They've drawn comparisons to each other on the pitch for close to a decade and now Cristiano Ronaldo looks set to join arch footballing rival Lionel Messi in having to face questions over his taxes.
According to Spanish newspaper El Confidencial, Real Madrid's Portugese superstar has been invoicing the majority of his advertising revenues through an Irish company.
It has published a document which appears to show that the former Manchester United winger used the Dublin-based Multisports & Image Management (MIM) to conclude a €1.1 million imaging rights deal with Saudi mobile phone company Mobily in 2012.
MIM appears to have handled many of his deals in this way. This would, of course, have meant that Ronaldo could avail of Ireland's 12.5% corporation tax rate, thus avoiding Spain's much higher 43.5% rate.
Though Ronaldo's name is not mention in any of MIM's incorporation documents, 'Cristiano Ronaldo' and 'Cristiano Ronaldo Legacy' are registered trademarks owned by the company. Its latest available accounts show that it had over €4m in cash at the end of 2014.
On foot of the report, German MEP Sven Giegold said it "comes as no surprise that the company is located in Ireland given the country's low corporate tax rate" and reiterated calls for the introduction of a minimum rate to avoid a "race to the bottom".
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